Cool and impressive features in their own right, no doubt. But with all our modern touchscreens and appliance computerization, we seem to have forgotten the good old analog improvements like swivel, lazy Susan-style shelving, that actually made life way simpler. In my recent guide to buying a retro refrigerator, buying vintage was tip #6.
That prompted me to look through lots of stories in our archives and put together this roundup of 12 vintage refrigerators. Spanning 1934 to the mid-1970s, these vintage refrigerators are marvelous, wacky, classic, or rare. One old-school fridge design featured fully rotating shelves, lending lazy Susan-style access to everything, and eliminating the notorious back of the fridge.
Kitchen technology is rapidly evolving, but with all these bells and whistles, some old gems get left behind. These vintage fridge features rival modern ones. This evolved into the machines we know today, which have a compressor that removes the heat and humidity from inside the refrigerator to keep foods from spoiling.
Since the 1930s electric refrigerators have become standard in just about every kitchen and the old ones have a few nice features we miss in the newer models! Though it looks old-school, this Energy Star-certified fridge boasts modern features like a frost-free freezer (read: it's designed so that ice crystals don't form on the walls) and a beverage. We're all about going back in time with design, so we found the best retro fridges from Smeg, Frigidaire, and more for a stylish blast from the past.
Older doesn't necessarily mean better, and with refrigerators, while some things were better in the old days, other things were much, much worse. When it comes to dynamic features, new refrigerators don't even compare to this 1960s vintage fridge with all the bells and whistles. A look at this vintage fridge will have you asking the same question others have asked, why "don't they make them like they used to?".
